Road safety: The Olympics and a 'Bradley Wiggins effect' may have contributed to an alarming rise in child pedestrian and cyclist casualties

The Olympics and a ‘Bradley Wiggins effect’ may have contributed to an alarming rise in child pedestrian and cyclist casualties last summer as youngsters strived to emulate their sporting heroes, road safety experts said today.

Deaths and serious injuries among children, cyclists and pedestrians soared on Britain’s roads amid a summer of sporting spectaculars, school holidays and unseasonal wet weather.

The worrying new figures from the Department for Transport show that the number of child pedestrians killed or seriously injured rose eight per cent last summer, in the months July, August and September, compared to the same quarter in 2011, an increase of 30 incidents from 390 to 420.

Pedestrians killed or seriously injured rose by six per cent, an increase of 75 incidents from 1,315 to 1,390.

Pedal cyclists killed or seriously injured increased by seven per cent, an increase of 64 from 976 to 1,040.

For cyclists, the figures also showed in the 12 months up to September last year, 3,270 cyclists were killed or seriously – a rise of eight per cent on the previous year and 29 per cent higher than the average rate between 2005-9.

By contrast, the number of car occupants killed or seriously injured last summer dropped by six per cent, a fall of 135 incidents from 2,365 to 2,230 compared to the same quarter in 2011.

And motorcyclists killed or seriously injured were down two per cent, down by 28 to 1,670.

AA's
president Edmund King said: ‘Youngsters do like to go outside and try
to emulate their sporting heroes, especially after major events like the
Olympics.

‘There may be less traffic on the roads but there are potentially more children playing out on the streets.

‘The worry is that they switch off to dangers they would normally look out for.’

Mr King added: ‘A contradictory trend of
fewer road deaths overall in the summer but more child pedestrians
killed during a period of sporting excellence makes uncomfortable
reading.’

‘The roads were certainly quieter during
major sporting events like the Olympics but that can lull people into a
false sense of security. We have long campaigned for greater driver
awareness of children in the street during high-profile sporting events,
such as the World Cup and Euro 2012.

Cyclists killed: Pedal cyclists killed or seriously injured increased by seven per cent, an increase of 64 from 976 to 1,040 according to the new figures from the Department for Transport

Children beware: The number of child pedestrians killed or seriously injured rose eight per cent last summer compared to the same quarter in 2011, an increase of 30 incidents from 390 to 420

‘We also had one of the wettest
summers on record. This could have contributed to the severity of some
of the accidents, making stopping distances worse.’

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‘Drivers
need to slow down in residential and urban areas and be prepared to
expect the unexpected at all times, but particularly during the school
holidays.

‘We have also called for more road
safety training for children in schools to stress new dangers such as
crossing roads while listening to music on headphones or texting
messages on a phone while on the move.’

'Emulate sport heroes': AA boss Edmund King worries that children 'switch off' to road dangers they would usually look out for

With serious cyclists casualties up, David Davies, the executive director of the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS) said: ’This could well be the Bradley Wiggins effect.’

It has prompted calls by campaigners to demand urgent action to protect vulnerable road users.

Road safety campaigners said the figures should be a wake-up call and demanded more 20mph zones. Ministers insisted they were ‘not complacent’.

People killed or seriously injured – known as ‘KSI’ – is used as the official measure for determining road concerns.

When the rises among vulnerable road users are balanced against the falls among motorists and motorcyclists, the KSI numbers overall remain relatively static at 6620 – an increase of just 20.

The provisional Government figures show that overall there were fewer deaths on the roads last summer than in summer 2011. Some 470 people killed in reported road accidents- a 5 per cent dip on the figure of 494 for the same period in 2011.

The latest provisional figures mean that the number of people killed on the roads in the 12 months ending September 2012 totalled 1,760 - a seven per cent drop on the figure for the 12 months ending September 2011 but the numbers killed or seriously injured in the 12 months ending September 2012 were up two per cent to 24,860.

Campaigners called for more 20mph zones to cut the carnage.

Tony Armstrong, chief executive of the charity Living Streets said: ‘We deplore the six per cent increase in the number of pedestrians killed or seriously injured in road traffic collisions.

‘This should be a wake-up call to the Government.

‘Introducing 20 mph speed limits where we live, work, shop and play has been shown to reduce child pedestrian deaths by 70 per cent and creates a safer environment for everyone.’

Jason Torrance, policy director of green transport body Sustrans, said: ‘The Government must act now to put an end to the increasing number of pedestrian and cyclist casualties on our roads.’

Road Safety Minister Stephen Hammond said: ‘We are not complacent about the safety of anyone using the roads, whether they are walking, cycling, riding or driving.’